And I Went Skydiving
by 2028
Summary: I prefer to imagine that Drew was not a secretive individual and told Rick long before he was actually left. So this is how I imagined they would spend the last weekend before Drew went to the Ranger Academy.


Rick and Drew had, the previous night, a discussion about how the sky looks different everywhere they saw it. That whole romantic movie trope, look at the star and that is the star I see too, didn't work; they knew enough about astronomy not to buy it. It didn't stop Drew or Rick from staring at the night when they were deployed, but they weren't seeing the same stars.

It was the last weekend before Drew left for the Ranger Academy and they spent it camping. In the uncovered back of their truck, because it was too warm and dry to need a tent or a sleeping bag really. They would not being doing that again because the truck was more uncomfortable than the ground.

Drew knew that Rick had something planned for the morning, not because Rick had said anything but because as much as Rick wanted to call Drew predictable, Rick had his own habits and traditions that he followed with a high degree of reliability.

They pulled out of the campsite pretty early having been woken up when the sun came up, but Rick had a purposeful motivation about him so Drew followed and they packed up at only a slightly slower pace than Army units cleared out.

"Where are we going?"

"What makes you think we are going anywhere?"

"I was predictable before we got married and marriage has made me realize that you are just as predictable." Rick's head brushed the headrest when he pulled a face that moved his whole neck.

"Somewhere to learn something that will shortly be useful to you."

Drew grinned and leaned back against his seat, content to wait and find out the surprise.

For the next hour, they had varied between insulting and complimenting the various music in Rick's car, talked about Rick's newfound desire to have the truck bed lined with memory foam and ate leftover beef jerry.

When Rick stopped driving, Drew didn't immediately recognize that they had come to a new place because their destination was the spitting image of their journey: a grassy field.

They piled all their camping gear behind the seats, so they just locked the doors and walked out into the field, Rick glancing around for a second, before he spotted someone in the distance and started towards him.

The three men met in the shadow of a small airplane. Rick introduced them and Drew kept his mouth shut.

About forty five minutes later, Drew was standing at the very edge of the airplane's floor, not able to see the ground through the clouds. He and Rick wore identical parachutes and for some reason, both Rick and this instructor person whose name he had already forgotten, seemed to think it would be a good idea for them to jump out of said airplane. Now probably wasn't a great time to figure out that he preferred to keep his arms and legs fully inside the aircraft.

For the sake of the moment, Drew ignored the fact that Rick has dragged him out of the plane because he stood there for a full sixty seconds without moving. The air rushing past his face felt like sticking his face in a waterfall, relentless pounding and all encompassing noise.

He didn't consciously remember to tuck and roll, but luckily he had been knocked down enough times that he didn't have to think about it anymore. The ground felt especially hard and he slammed shoulder over shoulder for a couple feet before he stopped on his back, the monument meaning he flopped onto the ground, his top arm flying out. He wasn't dizzy but the blood roared in his ears.

"Grateful." Rick startled him when he started talking. "If you rolled back the other way, you'll untangle the cords."

"Who the hell does this for fun?" Drew asked, muffled; he rolled back the direction he had come. When he opened his eyes again, he grabbed Rick's offered hand and together they pulled him to his feet.

"U.S. Army Rangers." Rick said, reaching over and pulling the cords straight. "You can take it off now."

Drew took a beat to process that and shrugged the tight harass off. Right, there were arteries and veins in the lower extremities that had blood flow again.

"Wait, what."

"One of the major differences between regular basic training and the Ranger Academy."

Rick had a satisfied expression on his face, clear eyes, amusement dancing around his features. There was also dirt in his hair.

"The first time is terrifying." There was humor there, but Rick's voice dipped for a second so Drew paid attention because there was remembered fear there too.

"And also if you act like that in front of other people, there is a slight chance they will eat you alive and then I'll be short a husband and I'm not cool with that."

Drew processed that, the shock wearing off enough to see what Rick had done, helping him get ready for this new stage of training and helping him not embarrass himself. Drew rubbed his face, grinning a little.

"The world needs more people like you in it." Drew complimented his husband when he dropped his hands.

"What, people who unknowingly drag each other out of airplanes."

"Thoughtful people."

Rick's eyes ceased at the corners, which happened when he smiled with his whole face.

"Next time, try to keep your mouth shut. It'll help your face not get chapped, especially if you jump when it is cold or really windy. Which is useful because if you try and carry chapstick around Afghanistan, it'll melt into a disgusting mess."

"And you actually landed pretty well for the first time. Some people try to float down to the ground and break both ankles." Rick criticized. If he hit true teacher lecture mood, Drew might interrupt but for now Drew wanted to soak in all the advice he could get.

"I always roll now, easier on my leg, but you'll probably be able to land on your feet eventually." Rick said matter a factly, his chute folded in a neat pile on his feet. Drew's was a tangled heap.

"If you want to hit the ground slower or not turn black and blue with every jump, pull your chute earlier. That's better when you are trying to be quiet too."

"The not screaming at the top of your lungs probably helps with the quiet aspect." Drew observed dryly.

"Yea, probably." Rick agreed without insult. "The first time about two thirds of people get shoved out anyway. And it's not nice people who calmly explain all the steps to you, it's grumpy, tired people who grade your every move."

Rick's first jump had been in the dark, the ground far below him, the plane and the people around him also poorly lit and tense. There was a collective urge to remain calm, despite the mutual barely contained panic.

"The reasons for jumping out of airplanes make sense, in the field, but there's a part your brain that's screaming 'don't jump out of the airplane, you idiot' but then you do and it's works out fine and you learn to ignore that part of your brain."

"That would be the same part of the brain developed over thousands of years of evolution to keep the human species alive." Drew asked sarcasmly.

"Yea, that part of the brain." Rick agreed, correcting himself when he realized he might be insulting the military. "But it's training; they're not trying to kill you." Rick paused. "Despite how it might feel."

"You are really making this sound like a lot of fun."

"You picked the wrong venue for fun, go back to the parking lot and pick option two." Rick advised, reminding Drew of a host directing confused guests at a wedding.

"But you're pretty calm about it now."

Finally pulling down the sleeve that had been twisted in the fall, Rick answered. "Trust the gear, trust your training and at some point, you can do it in your sleep." Turning his head, Rick considered, making Drew hope his husband hadn't actually jumped out an airplane half asleep.

"My first jump" Rick started, looking down almost sheepishly. "I tripped and fell onto the guy in front of me, he grabbed me and we tumbled out. We hit the ground and got yelled at because you're supposed to go one at a time."

"Keep your wits about you, got it."

"That is a good rule for the entire course. This is the hardest thing you'll ever do in the army." Rick said, his face set. "You're so tired, you forget your own name, so hungry you would stab someone for a sandwich and you feel like someone rolled you down a hill in a sack of rocks. Do not stop moving." Drew had a feeling if they weren't married, Rick would punctate his words by jabbing a finger in his face.

"You'll be tempted, do not listen to that voice in your head. It is trying to sabotage you."

"Second point." Rick said, still serious, watching Drew shove the shock aside and react to his change in demeanor. "People are going to give you shit because you're older than them, because you're gay, because you glanced at them when they fell on their face. Figure out a way to deal with it because you're going to need them and that's one reason people get recycled, disciplinary action."

"They'll also give you a hard time if you expect them to treat you well. You're used to a general level of respect because you've always been on the medical staff. That doesn't fly here. Don't expect people to like you because you have medical training. Act like everyone else, so they treat you like everyone else."

Softening his tone a little and drawing attention away from the way Drew's last tour ended, Rick continued. "It's not all horrible though. You're going to meet people you'd do anything for, who within two hours, you'd spill your guts to and follow anywhere. Intense is not a strong enough word for it." Sam, he'd been Rick's most trusted friend in the academy, known on an unconfirmed level that he was gay, good enough to watch Rick's back without viewing him as a competition to beat to the graduation stage, smart as a whip and outwardly determined enough to drag a couple people along with him. After they had graduated and spend the next month trying to regain all the weight they had lost and nurse all the injuries that never properly healed, Sam revealed that Rick's willingness to follow him had driven him to succeed, not fold under the pressure. It was from Sam that Rick learned that a loyal follower was just as valuable as the best leader.

"You think it's worth it?" Drew asked; the fear edged into the back of his mind that he wasn't tough enough for this army, that he'd come home after failing and have to live with himself for the rest of his life.

"Teaches you to be a better leader, makes your tours after that easier by comparison, reminds you not to gripe at your commanders…" That earned Rick a look.

"My class was a little mouthy, we're cured of that quickly." Rick said by way of explantation.

"And it…" Rick paused again, remembering the feeling of standing at the finish line, looking back at the course, knowing that the most difficult obstacles the army could find were surmountable, it was an indescribable feeling of pride and achievement. "You feel different. Powerful. Proud. Humbled. Yea, it's worth it."

Watching the quiet reflection on Rick's face, Drew marvelled at the man standing in front of him. How a person could be so strong and use emotion to enhance that, he didn't know.

"Thanks for telling me." Drew murmured sincerely.

Rick shrugged, the vulnerability making the strength more solid, more definite.

"You'll be good at this." Came the next statement, simple, somber, comforting.

"Yea?" Drew asked.

"Yea." Rick said. "I have faith."

"I'm excited." Drew said, not sounding that, sounding more scared.

"Normal." Rick said.

"And nervous."

"Also normal. Just don't tell anyone that."

"Mostly nervous about the lack of food." Drew lightened the mood, drawing the attention away from himself. He had been doing physical preparation all month and he had figured out a long time ago how to deal with nerves.

"Well," Rick considered again, as trying to find something positive to say. "Yea, that's a reasonable concern."

"I remember what you looked like when you got back." Drew said. His first thought was that starvation was a scary thing. Second thought was that he needed more groceries.

"Guess it's a good thing you do, because I don't." Rick admitted.

"Yea, you have to sleep a certain number of hours a night for events of the day to be stored in your long term memory and you definitely were not sleeping that much."

"That would explain a few things." For about a week after he got back, Rick remembered walking around in a haze before his memory evened out and he had normal continuous memory of his days.

"You slept for thirty six hours and then ate an entire chicken in about three and a half minutes. I took it away from you because I was afraid you would start eating the bones."

"That doesn't sound like something I would do." Rick dodged, a little embarrassed.

"On a good day, agreed, but you weren't back at your fighting weight yet." Drew paused. "Don't let me eat anything weird."

"Promise." Rick answered, knowing part of what made him feel safe in the world was knowing Drew had his back, especially when he couldn't look out of himself. The least he could do was return the favor.

"Want to show me how to repack these things?" Drew asked.

Rick shook his head. "I asked; they said don't bother."

"Hey" Drew started, watching Rick bend down to pick up his pack. "First time one of us has left since we got married."

Rick left the pack, pulled Drew toward him, smiled a little and stacked his arms over Drew's shoulders.

"We'll be fine."

"I know. Just…" Drew shrugged, not sure why it felt different to him.

"We'll be fine. I'm come see you on your off days and poke you so you don't fall asleep on our visits. You're allowed to get mail and it usually gets there on a pretty regular schedule. Plus within four hours, you'll be too busy and distracted to miss me." Rick reassured. "Compared to our deployments, 28 days is a blink of an eye."

"I know these things." Drew said. "I was just pointing it out."

Rick smiled and kissed him, almost sweetly, with a familiarity of people who had spent years doing it.

"Love you." Rick said simply.

"Love you too." Drew answered.

Drew still looked a bit serious for Rick's taste. Part of the plan was to teach Drew a new skill, but Rick was sure he would have been fine on his own. The larger reason was wanting to distract him on his last weekend and give him something good to remember when he was doubting himself.

"Going to get worry lines." Rick mumbled, rubbing Drew's forehead, between his eyebrows, where lines formed when Drew scowled. The hint of what was to come was a gleam in Rick's eyes before he was hoisted off the ground and grabbed in a fireman's hold over Rick's shoulder.

"I am not the predictable one in this relationship."

"Rick, put me down on the ground."

Rick spun in a circle and Drew swore and grabbed the front of his t shirt as a reflex. Rick knew what he was doing, he wouldn't drop Drew.

"Rick." Drew insisted. He whacked Rick on the top of the head. "On the ground. Now." Rick was tempted to actually drop Drew on the ground, like he asked, but figured that was a step too far. He set Drew on his feet, Drew holding still as he twisted so he wouldn't hurt his back.

Drew just glared at him for a second and shoved his hips just hard enough that Rick stepped to the side a couple steps in correction.

"Being predictable is not such a bad thing." Drew mused, forgiving him.

"I tried this argument on you; you didn't like it." Rick said, finally picking up his pack.

They wandered a few dozen yards to Drew's pack. Drew didn't want the moment to end; they were still in the middle of the field, they didn't have anywhere to be today; today it didn't have to.

"I can always tell when you're about to do something you think is mischievous. I can't always react fast enough to stop you, but I can always tell."

Rick paused and looped his arms over Drew's shoulder, liking the way Drew's head turned automatically to see his face.

"Sounds like I have to work on that."

"Or not." Drew said. "I like knowing that about you."

"Another suggestion." Rick said, a smile fluttering across his face.

"When you jump out of airplanes with other soldiers, you shouldn't kiss them when you hit the ground."

Drew tugged Rick towards him and pressed their lips together in a real kiss; it lasted long enough that Rick's eyes were closed when Drew stepped back. It made him thrilled and delighted to produce that reaction. "Right. I'll save that for you."

Rick blinked at him adorably, although he probably hadn't meant it that way.

"Excellent."

"Was the plan for today? Show me how awesome you are so I don't forget on my travels."

"No, I just wanted to give you a hassle about your falling technique."

"You didn't actually do that." Drew said, reaching out to take Rick's hand.

Rick shrugged, having accomplished what he wanted and unwilling to ruin the moment. This was going to stressful for both of them, but they could survive.


End file.
